新托福的口语考试大约30分钟，共有6道题目，一般称作Speaking Tasks 1-6。如果把它们进行分组的话，正好两两每组：Speaking Task 1 and Speaking Task 2为一组，解题关键词是characteristics（特性、特质）；Speaking Task 3 and Speaking Task 5为一组，解题关键词是campus（校园）；而Speaking Task 4 and Speaking Task 6归入最后一组，解题关键词是class（课堂）。
Characteristics: Speaking Task 1
第一题和第二题除了都是关于一些familiar topics以外，它们另一个共通之处就是涉及到人或事物的characteristics。比如在Speaking Task 1里面，you will be asked to describe an important book. 具体题目见下：
Talk about a book you have read that was important to you for some reason.
Explain why the book was important to you. Give specific details and examples to explain your answer.
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Preparation Time: 15 seconds
Response Time: 45 seconds
朗阁海外考试研究中心分析认为，针对这样的题目，你谈什么样的书其实并不重要。关键在于你说出了这本书之后，给出怎样的合理解释，即题目要求中的specific details and examples，而这些东西就是我们所说的characteristics。换言之，你把这本书的三大特性描述出来，就等于给出了相应的细节和例证。请看下面的列表：
The reasons why the book was important
Reason 1 = Characteristic 1: It gave me a lot of practical guidance
Reason 2 = Characteristic 2: It had a lot of illustrations to help me understand
Reason 3 = Characteristic 3: There was an interesting theoretical framework in the book
在三大理由（或三大特性）中，我们分别给其中的核心要点加了斜体和下划线，这就是考生们必须在15秒钟的准备时间内记下的最简单的笔记。没有这三点，想要在后面的45秒钟回答时间内进行良好的发挥，是一件异常困难的事情。
下面我们来看一道题目，大意是：When it comes to choosing friends, which characteristic do you think is the most important: honesty, loyalty or sense of humor? 回答这个问题有两种策略：一个是老实人的办法，一个是聪明人的招数。我们先看题目在问什么，很明显，题目要求我们从三种特性中选出一种，是在择友过程中最重要的。老实人的办法就是老老实实地选一个。
